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Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Lady Sumayla
considered how everything reminded her of Alaric, the father of her only son, Prince
al-Kamil ibn Karim. The black princess was pleased that she had lost none of
her enchanting, if subtle, charm. The more intelligent a woman is, she thought
to herself, the more charming she should be. Certainly Sumayla’s charm combined
with her intelligence, as well as pure, dumb luck, was responsible for her rise
in station from a black slave to a princess of the realm and possibly the mother
of Cordoba’s next emir. And for Kamil to become Emir of Córdoba would be
Sumayla’s crowning achievement. The Emir of Córdoba ruled not only over the
entire land known in the romantic Latin dialect as España, Spain, but also over all of North Africa, including Egypt.

In the seventh century, the Moors had crossed over the North
African sands, poured over the Straits of Gibralter and flooded up the Iberian
Peninsula, wresting control of Spain from the Goths. But neither the Goths’ Arian
pretensions to racial superiority nor their

2 4 F R A N K Y E R B Y :

christian faith prevented the Moors from establishing Islamic
rule over the Iberian Peninsula. So now in the ninth century, peoples from the Pyrenees Mountains, across the
Mediterranean Sea to Palestine and all the way to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
worshipped Allah and obeyed the Islamic laws found in the Holy Koran. Yet, even
as Islam ruled over Spain, the Germanic barbarians remained secure upon their estates
as the Goths dutifully paid the emir’s taxes on their feudal lands which dot
the entire Iberian peninsula. In return, the emir allowed the Goths to worship
their Christian God and recognized their hereditary rights to Spanish
properties and chattels. The emir’s own police, the al-Khurs, protected the
Goths’ daughters and wives from molestation and assault, a protection not
afforded to ordinary Muslims. Al-Rahman II, the reigning Emir of Cordoba, prides
himself on his moderate and peaceful reign.

In keeping with the highest principles of Islam, Al-Rahman
bestowed civil liberties on all his citizens. He maintained fair and impartial
courts, administered by cadis, especially chosen for their knowledge of the law.
Christians, Jews and Muslims, alike received just treatment under the moderate
rule of al-Rahman. Not that the emir abolished slavery, brutality or violence. The
lives of the lower classes, women and slaves could be a living hell. But the
emir desired that the lives of the elites living under his rule be pleasurable whether
they be Christian, Jewish and Muslim,. But even while the Moors fancied themselves
the culture bearers of an advanced civilization, the Goths watched and waited for
their opportunity to reclaim control of the land and proclaim Christianity,
once again, the only true religion. Nor could they wait to begin burning
heretics at the stake.

A V I C T I M ’S G U I L T 2 5

Fate seems to have chosen Lady Sumayla to play some role in
the re-emergence of Christian rule in Spain.Staring into the mirror, she wonders just what that role might be. But then
her thoughts return to Kamil. And right now, Lady Sumayla is very cross with her
son. Impatiently, Lady Sumayla rings a bell. Immediately, Yazmin, whose face
has seen more than sixty seasons, appears.

“Has he arrived yet?” Lady Sumayla asks without turning her
head.

“No, milady,” comes the answer almost before the question
had been asked. Lady Sumayla notes a hint of impatience from Yazmin ___ or is it impertinence? Whichever, Yazmin
should know better. Though Lady Sumayla, herself, had once been a slave, she
imitated the behavior of all ninth century Moorish nobility and held slaves in
contempt. And though she treated her slaves reasonably well, Lady Sumayla
tolerated no disrespect.

“There’s no reason for Prince Kamil not to have come by
now,” Lady Sumayla says continuing to observe Yazmin’s attitude. Yazmin holds
her tongue; her mistress expects no reply. “Was my message delivered to him as
I instructed?” Lady Sumayla asks.

“Yes, milady. I will bring Prince Kamil to your chambers as soon
as he appears,” the old crone says.

2 6 F R A N K Y E R B Y :

I
must be patient, Sumayla tells herself. If it is Allah’s will that we
succeed and Kamil becomes emir, I will control these scheming Christians. Nasr
and Sumayla were plotting to seize power from the present emir and his family. But
the plan rested on their absolute control of Kamil. Once Kamil was the emir, she
would use Alaric to curb the Christian power. The thought of having Alaric
completely in her power made Lady Sumayla tingle with pleasure. But stirring
from her daydream, the black princess became petulant. How was she going to
control Alaric when she couldn’t even control Kamil. Her son had been ignoring
her completely. She had not seen him in over a week. And now these terrible
rumors about Kamil and the emir’s harem frightened her. Kamil’s
indescretions, Nazr’s ambitions, this
had become a dangerous game that they played. And not only could they lose the
game, they all could lose their heads.

Sumayla possessed a superior intelligence and a prodigious
memory. Before marrying the emir’s uncle and before living in a grand castle,
Sumayla had been a slave. Her master, Horeth ibn al-Jatib was a bookseller and
owned a copy house. As a child, in addition to Arabic, Sumayla learned the Romance,
Latin and Greek languages, fluently. At fifteen, Sumaylay could recite the
Koran from memory. She became one of Horeth’s readers. But when she met a mean-spirited
eunuch who served in the emir’s court, everything changed for Sumayla. Not only
did Nazr manipulate the Emir’s uncle into marrying Sumayla who made a solemn
vow to bare him a son, and now Nazr was using her son ____ and her, as well
____ in his court intrigue. Under Nazr’s tutelage, Sumayla conspired and
plotted for the day when her son, Prince al-Kamil ibn Abd al-Karim, would become
Emir of Córdoba.

“Mi’lady,” Yazmin breaks into Sumayla’s reveries.

“Yes, what is it, Yazmin?”

“There’s a strange person in the reception hall, milady!”

“Well, how did he get there?” Sumayla asks. “Who let him in?
Why are you troubling me?”

“He’s a foreigner, milady. His dress is peculiar. No one saw
him enter.”

“Is he armed?”

“No, mi’lady, he has no weapons. He just stands there, speaking
a strange tongue. But he understands what I say to him. Should I have him thrown
out?”

In the palace reception hall, Lady Sumayla finds the stranger
gaping about. His head is bare. his hair close-cropped and his clothing does
not depict nobility. His open faced shirt, leather jacket and Italian-cut
trousers convey a simple functionality that would only become commonplace in the
last decades of the twentieth century. The touch of grey around his temples and
sprinkled in his beard gave the stranger a dashing, distinguished look. Sumayla judged him to be in his
forties. He’s the one. And in a low, husky
voice, she addresses him. “Welcome, Frank Yerby. I was told to expect you.

A V I C T I M ’S G U I L T 2 9

“Where am I?” Frank wonders out loud, his eyes still
wandering about the palace hall. Immense marble pillars support the high
vaulted ceiling covered with intricate designs. All around, arabesques and
carvings decorate the walls. In the middle of the hall, a fountain sprays a
fine stream of water into the air from cleverly designed fish appearing to leap
into the air. Cushions, ottomans, tables and chairs are arranged throughout. Platters
of fruit and sweetmeats sit upon sideboards.

“Where am I and who are you?” Yerby says in Spanish.

“You are in my home,” Lady Sumalya replies.

“And where exactly is that?” Yerby asks.

“This is the palace of the late Prince Abd al-Karim ibn
al-Hixim, uncle to Abd al-Rah-

man II, Emir of Córdoba.”

Ordinarily, Frank Yerby would not have given Lady Sumayla a
second look. Yet, he felt himself drawn
to the Moorish princess whose dusky skin color could disguise neither her
stately presence nor her subtle beauty. “I am the Lady Sumayla, widow of Prince
al-Karim, Mr. Yerby, or shall I call you Frank? It so awkward speaking face to
face with one’s creator.”

“Ah, you are Lady Sumayla, of my novel, An Odor of Sanctity,” Yerby surmises.

“Very good, Frank,” the princess continues, getting right to
the point, “do you know why we sent for you?”

“Does it have something
to do with some of the characters from my books wanting to be remembered?” Yerby
asks.

“We don’t just want to live __ we want to achieve, we want
to excel,” Sumayla says. “And most importantly, I want my son to become Emir.
So I need your help.”

“I need you to tell me the future,” she said demurely. “I want
to know whether my plans for Kamil will be successful.”

“If I may say so, Your Ladyship,” Yerby begins, shifting
uncomfortably on his pillowed ottoman, “this seems to be a rather strange request,
especially considering it comes from one of my own creations. I have a
difficult time believing in immortality.So I don’t see

“The same way I summoned you here,” Sumayla replies focusing
his attention. “You wouldn’t have been the first writer forced to bend to the
superior will of his creation.”

A V I C T I M ’S G U I L T 3 1

“What!” Yerby snorts. “Superior
will! How can a fictional character in one of my books have a will superior
to mine?

Sumayla decides to take a different tack and appeal to
Yerby’s vanity. “You believe you’ve had a successful career, don’t you, Frank?”

Yerby nods.

“How do you judge your success?”

3 2 F R A N K Y E R B Y :

“By my work, of course,” Yerby answers.

“Then what’s the matter with you, Frank? You’ve written some
great stuff. Are you so lacking in pride and ambition that you would allow your
life’s work to be ignored and consigned to the dustbin of obscurity. Even your
own children seem to have forgotten you ever existed!” Yerby winces. Sumayla
exposes Yerby’s secret fear.

“You’re not compelled to give up your disbelief in God,” Lady
Sumayla continues. “You can continue as before, keeping an open mind and
learning from your experiences. But we need you because you open up
possibilities that didn’t exist before. We open up possibilities for you, as
well. Serve us, not as the arrogant fool you were, but as a person believing in
his own abilities. Allow us to help you develop your intelligence and we will give
you the strength to face your own death.”

Yerby listens. “What do you want me do?” Yerby asks,
quietly.

“Your belief in your own intelligence ultimately is the only
faith there is. Don’t give it up. Not yet.”

Lady Sumayla is quick to answer. “You can see the future and
you can guide me in my great task.”

Just at that moment, there is a stir among the servants. A
tall, muscular Negro strides into the great reception hall.

“Kamil!” Lady Sumayla shouts rising to go over to greet her
son. “Where have you been?”

“Hello, Mother.” Kamil’s manner is reserved, somewhat arrogant,
typical of the petty bureaucarats who help Al-Rahman rule his Caliphate. Kamil
gives his mother a short bow before kissing her on both cheeks. Kamil’s skin
glows a coppery color, a perfect blend of his Gothic and African lineage. And his
emerald green eyes makes his skin color all the more striking. None of the
Arabs of the emir’s court, including his uncle, have green eyes like Alaric and
many of the other Goths. None of the emir’s court doubted that Kamil was the
son of the Gothic Lord, Alaric Teudisson.

“Kamil,” Lady Sumayla addresses her son, “why have you
ignored me for so long? You know I worry about you.”

You
worry more about Nasr’s plans for Cordova, I fear,
Kamil says to himself.

3 4 F R A N K Y E R B Y :

In the mid-ninth century, Córdoba is the largest center of
learning and culture outside of Istanbul. The Emir’s capital boasts over
200,000 houses and 700 public baths serving over a million souls. Cordoba’s
workshops employ 13,000 weavers, armorers and leather workers. Thousands flock
to Córdoba to learn the trades. Throughout the world Cordoban skill and craftsmanship
are legendary. Merchants and farmers from Galicia to Asturias, from Andalusia
to Estremadura, sell everything from fruits and produce to meats, poultry and
fish and breads, cakes and pies in Córdoba’s teeming marketplaces. Goods bought
and sold in Córdoba were transported down the Guadalquivir River to Seville.
From Seville, they were loaded onto ships and transported across the Mediterranean
Sea to trading capitals all over the world. Tales of Córdoba’s wealth drew the
attention of northern Europeans; some were interested in engaging in peaceful
commerce, but many others sought only plunder and war. Prince Kamil won fame
and glory at the emir’s’s court by fighting against an invading arny of viking Norsemen
bent on rape and plunder. After the battle, Al-Rahman rewarded Kamil by officially
recognizing him as his royal cousin to the emir, a member of the royal family
and a prince of the realm. Prior to this “official ” recognition, the
circumstances of Kamil’s birth, the worse-kept secret in Córdoba, made
Sumayla’s son an outcast.

But Al-Rahman’s natural magnanimity would not allow Kamil’s
bravery to go unrewarded. Not only did Kamil facing the hordes of white, hairy
beasts streaming out of their ships, in a murderous frenzy, but, during the
fighting, he he saved the life of Alaric Teudisson. Al-Rahman’s own son, al-Mundhir,
was married to Alaric’s daughter, Theodora. Al-Rahman decided to reward Kamil further
by appointing him to a position in his court. The emir’s half breed cousin was appointed
secretary to the vizier of correspondence with an apartment in the palace of
viziers. In an elaborate court ceremony, attended by members of the royal
family including Prince Abd al-Karim ibn al-Hixim, the emir’s uncle and Kamil’s “legal father,” dignitaries from all
over the Emirate witnessed Al-Rahman bestow upon Kamil a tiraz, a gorgeous golden robe, embroidered with the symbols of his
new office. The presentation of the tiraz
left no doubt anywhere in the Caliphate that Emir Al-Rahman held his cousin, Prince
al-Kamil ibn Abd al-Karim ibn al-Hixim, in great esteem.

3 6 F R A N K Y E R B Y :

“I’ve been busy, mother,” Kamil explains to Sumayla. “There’s
a lot happening at court. These disturbances by the Christian have kept me up
reading and replying to correspondence almost every night.”

“Yes,” Sumayla responds, “we have heard that you have been
quite busy at night.” Her attempt at
irony doesn’t escape her son, but Kamil ignores his mother’s remark. The first
thing the vizier of corrrespondence taught Kamil that discretion was the most important of all the
virtues.

“You know that my duties at the palace take up all my time,”
Kamil says. “The emir did not appoint me so that I can come and go as you command. Besides Nasr ….”

“Oh, you don ’t have to tell me about Nasr,” the princess
sighs. “I know how he behaves, sometimes. But you just have to tolerate him, poor
thing.” Sumayla feels sorry for Nasr whose castration left him burning with
hatred. “I owe Nasr my life. But for him I would still be a slave and you,my
son, would never have been born.”

“But look, Kamil, let me introduce Frank Yerby.” Lady Sumayla
grabs Yerby’s arm and leads him over to Kamil. “He has come to unlock the
future for us ___ and possibly your past as well.”

The young prince turnes to observe Frank Yerby more closely.
“You really did it! You brought him to us!” Kamil is always amazed at his
mother’s accomplishments, but this time, she has outdone herself. “I never
believed it possible, but you did it.”

A V I C T I M ’S G U I L T 3 7le

The prince takes a seat and calls for some refreshments. He
observes Yerby for awhile.

Prince Kamil says. “My real father is a Christian so she
believes that when I become Emir, I’ll be able to handle them. But I pray that the
day that I become emir, Allah protect us, is a long way off.”

Yerby notices a quick tightening at the corners of Lady
Sumayla’s mouth. “There’s still much that she hasn’t told him,” Yerby observes.

“My mother’s afraid that the Christians will not rest until
they have conquered and enslaved all the Muslims in Spain. And with that
wonderful logic, known only to women, my mother believes that I am to be
Cardoba’s savior. She believes that as emir, I could unite Christians, Jews and
Muslims into one great religious faith which would practice toleration and brotherhood.”

“Does she?” Yerby says raising his eyebrows in amusement.

“He scoffs,” Sumayla observes, “but the Arian Christians are
barbarians. They forbid intermarriage between themselves and anyone else, even
other Christians.They even shun the Romans. They set themselves above every
other people. They have sworn to dominate or exterminate. We cannot allow them
to gain power. Someone good like you,

my son, must take charge.”

3 8 F R A N K Y E R B Y :

Prince Kamil shakes his head. “The Christians have many
forts and walled cities.”

“I can’t believe that the Christians would allow the Peace
of the Prophet to be destroyed,” Kamil says. “Did not my own father suffer from
grievous wounds received from Viking invaders who sought to overthrow the Peace
of the Prophet? If I became the emir, I would find a way for the Christians to
have more say in the government and eliminate the religious disputes which
serve neither Christian nor Moor.”

“Yet, young Master,” Yerby observes prophetically, “since
the Christians do have many forts and walled cities, surely they intend to keep
up these disturbance for some time.”

Kamil considers Yerby’s words without comment.

“Now,” Lady Sumalya says, grabbing her son’s arm and dragging
him over to her private chambers, “come and tell me all you have seen and
accomplished since last we talked. What have you learned of the people?”

But before Kamil can reply, Lady Sumayla turns to Yerby and claps
her hands. A servant immediately appears as if from thin air. “Khalid will show
you to your rooms and see to your needs.” Then, gazing deeply into Yerby’s
eyes, the black princess touches his forearm. Her fingers on his skin were warm
and reassuring. “Don’t worry, Frank,” Sumayla says, “I will explain it all to
you, but first I must talk with my son. It’s very important.”

Khalid was a bent and wizened little fellow with the round and
protuberant potbelly that is characteristic of eunuchs, but the rest of him was
thin and wiry. Yerby finds it difficult to judge the eunuch’s age. The
toothless grin Khalid flashes from time to time suggests that he might be in
his mid-forties which was ancient in ninth-century Spain ___ especially for a
slave.

“How long have you worked for the princess?” Yerby asks.
They leave the reception area and pass through a number of corridors and doorways
connecting the halls and apartments of Princess Sumayla’s palace, which, in
truth, was only somewhat less opulent than the emir’s palaces in the Alcazar. When
Lady Sumayla married the emir’s uncle, at Nasr’s urging, she begged her husband
to build her a palace on the banks of the Guadalquiver River. Nasr’s intrigues
required that he have a safehouse away from prying eyes of the emir’s al-Khurs
whose network of agents and spies reached deep into the various levels of
Cordaban society. Lady Sumayla’s palace proved to be an excellent meeting place
for the Emirate’s arch-conspirator.

Seeing that Khalid has ignored him, Yerby repeats his
question, a little louder. “How long have you worked for the princess?”

But again, the shuffling figure ahead does not respond. In
frustration,Yerby reaches out, grabs the black eunuch and whirls him completely
around. “How long have you worked for the princess?” he shouts.

The little man bows humbly and moves his lips, but no sound escapes
his mouth. Khalid makes several simple
gestures with his hand to his mouth helping Yerby understand that the eunuch
had his tongue removed. Once he was certain that Yerby understood that he was
unable to speak, Khalid continues down the corridor that ends in front of two
massive doors. Khalid goes through the doors and shows Yerby into a large
circular vestibule around which were placed cushions and low furniture. Around
the spacious room, great columns supported an arched ceiling in whose center
was an opaque dome through which sunlight was filtered. Below this great
skylight sat a fountain. Archways opened on opposite sides of the vestibule.To
the left lay a bed chamber with bed and closets containing a wardrobe for a
prince. To the right, a tiled bathing area held a great sunken bathing
pool.Tables on the side held decanters of bath salts, oils and fragrances. Towels
and robes lay neatly folded in closets on the opposite wall.

The bathing room opened onto a patio with a private garden. Yerby
decides to take advantage of the bathing facilities.When he finished
luxuriating, he found that Khalid had brought refreshments into the vestibule.
Silently serving Yerby from silver plates, Khalid made certain that his guest
wanted for nothing.Then, after indicating that a servant was stationed on duty
outside his apartment, Khalid took his leave and Yerby was left to his own
thoughts. Meanwhile back in her private apartment, the Lady Sumayla turned her
attention to her son.

“What is this that I have been hearing about you and the Lady
Tarub?” Sumayla fixes Kamil with a look that says she is serious. Kamil decides
to be as truthful about his affair as he must ___ but no more.

“Well, mother,” her son begins, “it ’s really all your fault,
you know.”

“My fault?” Lady Sumayla responds. This is going to be worse than I had imagined, she tells herself. She decides not to let Kamil know how much
she already knows. “How am I responsible for you getting your head separated
from your shoulders over Lady Tarub, the emir’s favorite wife?”

“If you had not trained me to be a linguist, like yourself,”
Kamil replies with a straight face, “I probably would not have been involved
with the Lady Tarub.”

In the emir’s court, the most prized females were the blond,
blue-eyed northern Europeans. To many members of the dark-skinned races such as
the emir and his princes, the milk-white skin, skinny hipped and ponderous
breasted barbarian wenches were the most desirable women in the harem. Who am I to cast stones? Sumayla laughs
to herself. But today, Sumayla she did not feel happy, she felt angry, really
very angry. She felt betrayed and duped. She felt like a parent who has lived
her whole life with a spoiled, self-indulgent and only child.

Well,
I certainly intend to leave out as much as I possibly can,
Kamil tells himself. There is no reason
to get mother any more involved in this thing than necessary.I don’t even
remember how it all began?

Kamil loved and admired Al-Rahman. The emir not only
recognized Kamil as a kinsman, but whenever Kamil was in court, he always
greeted him affectionately. Kamil tried to ignore Nasr’s and his mother’s plots
on his behalf. But he owed his mother his life. So Kamil tried to go about his
business doing exactly as he was told without really considering the
consequences of his mother’s actions. Kamil limited his own ambitions to serve the
Al-Rahman to the best of his abilities. He liked that the emir was genuinely

A V I C T I M ’S G U I L T 4 3

concerned for the welfare of the people of Cordoba. Dealing
with official correspondence, Kamil could see the lengths the emir took to
eliminate corruption and theft from his administration. Kamil didn’t need his
mother to tell him that he had gotten in way over his head with Umm Walad Tarub,
Emir Al-Rahman’s favorite wife.

“Nasr told me that he wanted me to read to the emir’s harem,”
Kamil begins. “He said that wanted me to test a new device invented by the philospher
the emir brought from Alexandria.”

“Read! To the emir’s wives? Impossible!” Sumayla says. “How?”

“The philospher invented a device that would let me read
aloud in one room and be heard in another,” Kamil explains. “Nasr persuaded the
emir that his wives would profit by hearing the readings of the Koran and be entertained
by readings of poetry and philosophy.”

“It will be strictly for your ladies’ entertainment and
diversion,” Nasr told the emir. “Prince Kamil will read from one room and the
sound of his voice, enhanced by the natural acoustics of wood paneling, will be
heard in the adjoining chamber.” The idea appealed to the emir, not so much because
he wanted to cure his wives’ tedium, but because he was intrigued by any
technical innovation brought to his court.”

“So how did the gossip begin about you and the emir’s wife?”
Sumayla asks. She knew how skillfully
Kamil avoided telling the complete truth when he wanted. It had all begun so
innocently, Kamil remembered. He would enter a room completely separated from
the harem and read into a tube. The emir’s wives could hear the reading in
their quarters. From the very beginning, the prince’s deep sensual voice
enchanted the emir’s wives ___ especially Lady Umm Walad Tarub, the daughter of
a wealthy Venetian merchant, captured by Muslim corsairs raiding Christian merchant
ships on the Mediterranean Sea. Lady Tarub, a slim and voluptuous beauty,
always got her way, especially when she was restless and bored. Though the
emir’s wives were forbidden access to the emir’s council meetings, he allowed Lady
Tarub to listen to his council proceedings from a secret ante-chamber. “The one
who reports on correspondence has a voice that stirs my soul,” the Lady Tarub
remarked to Nasr. That was all the grand vizier needed to hear. He arranged for
Kamil to deliver weekly readings to the emir’s harem and awaited for the
results.

The emir’s harem cares less about the readings and more
about the reader. His voice, wondrously sensual, enchants them.The emir’s wives
talk of nothing other than courtier with the wonderful voice. Tarub decides
that she wants to meet the man with the wondrous voice. Lady Tarub approaches
Nasr. The emir’s grand vizier arranges for Tarub and Kamil to meet. After a succession
of meetings, the emir’s handsome green-eyed mulatto cousin and his young
blue-eyed, honey-blond wife fall helplessly in love. Kamil attends his official
court duties with scrupulous attention. He doesn’t want to arouse the
suspicions of the vizier of correspondence. After dark, Kamil sneaks into the royal
gardens through a secret tunnel. During that magical time, when evening shadows
hide the lovers, these victims of Cupid’s barbs desparately cling to each other
and make plans.

“Tarub,” Kamil whispers,“for the sake of Allah, please …”

“Are you a coward?” Lady Tarub taunts her lover. “I was told
that in the battle against the infidel Vikings, you surpassed all others in
bravery. You saved your father’s life. Why does the sight of a woman weaken you?”

But what a sight was the Lady Umm Walad Tarub. Her flowing golden-reddish
blond hair framed her fair sharply chiseled features with tiny freckles dancing
on the tip of her nose. Deep blue eyes tantalized Kamil with their mocking gaze
just above the filmy half veil that extends down a little below her chin. The
veil, as transparent as spring water, made subtle mockery of the Prophet’s
command to maintain female modesty, for the ruby red lips glistening through
the veil induces a delirium into Kamil’s brain. Tarub’s body so close and
perfectly shaped with legs that reached up to a tiny waist. Tarub wears a short
brocaded jacket opened to reveal the fetching sight of twin mounds of flesh,
their rouge-red tips dancing within easy reach of Kamil’s trembling hands.Tarub
wears billowing silk harem trousers, revealing long, shapely legs and bejeweled
ankles.

“Coward!” Tarub taunts him. “Come here and kiss me. I haven’t
tasted those sweet lips for such a long time.” Helpless to resist, Kamil drew
her to him and slants his face downward so that their mouths could meet. Slowly
he moved his lips to hers, touching her ever so gently. But sweeping his hands
up behind his head and locking them, she clings to Kamil, grinding her mouth
against his, her tongue darting serpent-like into his mouth ___ kindling a
flame of desire that turns into an inferno, burning down into his loins.

4 6 F R A N K Y E R B Y :

Tarub grinds the length of her body against him, scalding
him with breast and thigh, and devouring him with succulent kisses. And as Tarub
arches up to feel the entire length of his muscular manliness, Kamil feels the
terror of someone destined for a meeting with the ax man. Lost in forbidden passion,
maddened by his inability to turn away, Kamil is fully aware of the
consequences of his terrible betrayal. He is touching not just of another man’s
wife; he is locked in a passionate embrace with the Al-Rahman’s favorite wife.

For this Kamil knows that he must die, but Tarub’s scent is so
intoxicating and her touch, so electrifying
that Kamil is resigned to die, if it is necessary, just for one night of
ecstasy. Boldly, he frees his hands, pushes aside her flimsy garment and
caresses her bare flesh, roughly, almost brutally, as if punishing her for his weakness.

“I’m sorry,” Kamil says after he is finally able to control
his passions.

“Don’t be,” Tarub says breathlessly desire coursing through her
veins like a flow of hot lava. “You’re the man I want! You’re the man I must
have! I would let you do what you like right now, if I thought we had time.”

“By the Prophet’s beard,” Kamil whispers, “there is no one
lovelier than you!”

“Kamil, my love?” Tarub purrs.

“Yes, Tarub.”

“You must come to my chambers,” she says.

“How can I do that?” the lovelorn prince replies, “even now we
are in great danger and must soon part.”

“Even so,” she replies. “I have a plan. If it works, we will
be able to spend an entire night together. Don’t you want to?”

“You know I do.”

“Well, the day of the Breaking of the Fast will be in two
weeks,” she reminds him. “After the banquet, which you will attend, everyone
will be exhausted.”

“But what if the Emir wishes to visit you in your chambers?”
Kamil asks.

A V I C T I M ’S G U I L T 4 7

“I will arrange for a sleeping potion to be given to the emir,”
Tarub responds with a twinkle in her eyes. “He will not want to visit me on the
night after the day’s ceremonies and festivities. Besides I will be ill and not
able to leave my chamber.”

“One of the emir’s al-Khurs or eunuchs is certain to
discover us,” Kamil points out. “They would suffer the most terrible torture
and death, if they were not to report us immediately.”

“We can do it,” Tarub responds. “Nasr will help us.”

“Nasr!” Kamil exclaims.

Once again she holds him in a passionate embrace, her hot breath
blows against his bare throat. Breaking away, she whispers, “I must go. Remember,
the night of the Breaking of the Fast,
we will be together.”

“But Tarub …,” Kamil protests weakly.

“Is it not worth the risk, my love?” she asks, fondling him.

“By Allah, yes …” Kamil answered,,“but …”

“Until then, my prince,” she says gaily, before slipping
from his grasp, wrapping a great grey veil about her and skipping away. This
last meeting with the Lady Tarub was all Kamil thought about, but, of course, he
couldn’t tell his mother about it.

“I don’t know how all this gossip began,” Kamil lies, “but
you know how the servants talk. You can’t believe half of what they say.”

“Yes, I know how the gossip flies about within the confines
of the Alcazar,”

Sumayla agrees. Most of the slaves involved in gossip, rumor
and the passing of secrets work for her. One reason Nasr was so attracted to
Sumayla at the very beginning was her highly organized and absolutely faithful
network of spies and agents. A Christian Goth like Nasr could never have
established such a network.

4 8 F R A N K Y E R B Y :

From her earliest days as a reader in Horeth’s copy house, the
copyists thought of Sumayla as a saint. Horeth demanded that the twenty or more
slaves, most of whom were white, who produced his books complete a minimum number
of texts each week. In addition, he demanded that the books be free of errors. Horeth
would fly into a rage when he was forced to give a customer a refund or
exchange a customer’s book because of an error. Horeth beat copyists who cost
him money. After suffering a beatings, one slave remained maimed for life. Infrequently
a copyist died from Horeth’s beating. Sumayla always tried to assist her copyists.
She proofread their material and even dictated the text again, when necessary. In
return, the copyists told Sumayla everything. Sumayla always knew Córdoba’s
latest gossip. Even after Horeth sold a copyists, she would return to tell
Sumayla the latest gossip in the households of her new masters. Sumayla always
had the latest news from the markets and the juciest gossip from the baths.
Then Nasr was merely a lowly administrator in the royal court. Sumayla amazed
him with her encyclopedic knowledge of Cordoba and Al-Rahman’s court.

Nasr immediately profited from Sumayla’s information. Soon
he became more than a court scribe. Nazr became the man to know in Al-Rahman’s
court. With the information in his possession, Nazr becane a confidant of the
emir, himself. Nasr always knew who was vulnerable to blackmail and how to
eliminate a rival. Nazr always knew when

A V I C T I M ’S G U I L T 4 9

and where his own enemies intended to strike. It was Nasr’s
genius to bring Sumayla’s network from the streets of Córdoba into the Alcazar,
itself. A full fifty percent of the female slaves and sevants within the Emir’s
own household belonged to Sumayla’s network.

“You know how dangerous it is to have anything to do with
the emir’s harem, my son?” Sumayla tries to sound calm and supportive. “You
must be careful, especially now.”

“Yes mother,” Kamil mutters. “I will be very careful.”

Deciding that any further words would defeat her purpose,
Lady Sumayla allowed the matter to rest ____ for the time being.

But for Kamil the torment continues. It had only been two
weeks since the young lovers last met. Anyone. remembering their own youth.
understands how meaningless even the threat of death is to someone in love. For
as surely as the sun shone on the white and red tiles of Córdoba, Kamil loved the
Lady Tarub. Of course, in orchestratrating the love affair, the grand vizier
knew was taking a risk. Already the gossip was flying about the Alcazar. It was
just a matter of time before all Córdoba would know, as well. Then the rumors
were certain to reach the ears of the emir himself. There was no turning back
now, as Lady Sumayla knew. But Nasr’s
plots were always cleverly planned and well executed. When it came to a power
grab, Nazr never made mistakes.